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It takes the sound of thunder five seconds to travel one mile how far away is the thunder if it takes 45 seconds to reach you?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Your estimate of 5 seconds per mile is the one I always use during a storm. Let's see how it stacks up:
1 mile = 5,280 feet
1 mile / 5 seconds = 0.2 mile per second = (0.2 x 5,280) = 1,056 feet (321.9 meters) per second.
The speed of sound at standard temperature and pressure is listed as 343 m/s. So the result of 321.9 might be disappointing, but really now, who knows what it is in the middle of a thunderstorm !
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 6y agoOne mile. A rough guide is based on the fact that sound travels 1 mile in five seconds in air that is that temperature.
In kilometres, the sound travels 1 km in 3 seconds.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoWell the distance between you and where the lightning struck and you counted 5 seconds from the flash of lightning is about 1.055 miles
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago9 miles.45 divided by 5 is 9.
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What is the approximte distance of a thunderstorm if you notice a three-second delay between the flash of lighting and the sound of the thunder?
About three-fifths of a mile. The sound of the thunder takes approximately five seconds to travel one mile.
How does thunder roll?
Thunder is the sound that lightening makes. Sound travels through air at "the speed of sound." Officially, the speed of sound is 331.3 meters per second (1,087 feet per second) in dry air at 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). At a temperature like 28 degrees C (82 degrees F), the speed is 346 meters per second. As you can see, the speed of sound changes depending on the temperature and the humidity; but if you want a round number, then something like 350 meters per second and 1,200 feet per second are reasonable numbers to use. So sound travels 1 kilometer in roughly 3 seconds and 1 mile in roughly 5 seconds. When you see the flash of a lightning bolt, you can start counting seconds and then divide to see how far away the lightning struck. If it takes 10 seconds for the thunder to roll in, the lightning struck about 2 miles or 3 kilometers away.
Why does thunder happen ten seconds after lighting strikes?
It doesn't always. Thunder is the noise made by the lightning... it is a sonic shock wave which produces the noise we hear as thunder. The time taken for the light to reach us and the time taken for the sound to reach us differ because of the differing speeds of light and sound. As the speed of sound is so much slower than that of light we see a flash almost as soon as it happens, but we only hear the sound a lot later.... the lightning is approximately one kilometre distant for every 2.9 seconds which elapse between seeing the flash and hearing the crack. If there is a ten second delay then the lightning strike is a little under 3.5 kilometres away.
How long does it take thunder to travel a mile?
A quick rule of thumb is 5 seconds. Since sound travels at a little over 1000 feet per second which is about a fifth of a mile. A better estimate is 1125 feet per second. 5280 / 1125 = 4.693 seconds
When an explosion in the atmosphere occurs Why do you see lightning before the thunder heard?
this is because you hear the thunder after it actually makes the sound ( because sound travells ) . lightenging and thunder happen at exactly the same time... so if u see lightenging, try counting how many seconds until u hear the thunder. if it is 5 seconds the storm is 5 miles away into the sky, 6 seconds would be 6 miles 7secs 7 miles and so on. hope this helped :) xx
How long does it take for the sound of thunder from lightning bolt that was 2km away to reach your ears?
Very close to 5 seconds.
What the sound of thunder?
Thunder is the sound of lightning, because lightning moves faster then sound it takes a few seconds for the sound to catch up. So there is no sound of thunder, thunder is just the sound of lightning.
What is the approximte distance of a thunderstorm if you notice a three-second delay between the flash of lighting and the sound of the thunder?
About three-fifths of a mile. The sound of the thunder takes approximately five seconds to travel one mile.
How does sound travel why don't i hear thunder at the same time as i see lightning?
This is because light travels faster than sound. Light travels so quickly that when a bolt of lightning occurs, you see it immediately. Sound moves at a few hundred miles per hour, meaning that it will usually take a few seconds for the thunder to reach you unless the lighting bolt was very close.
What is the sound of thunder?
Thunder is the sound of lightning, because lightning moves faster then sound it takes a few seconds for the sound to catch up. So there is no sound of thunder, thunder is just the sound of lightning.
Can sound reach 1350 meters in 5 seconds?
Easily, the speed of sound is approx 340 metres per second, so it should travel approx 1,700 metres in 5 seconds.
Can airplanes travel faster than sound?
NO they can not travel faster than sound in thunder and lightning
How many seconds behind is the thunder before the lightning?
Light is virtually instantaneous over any distance you'd be aware of a thunderstorm going on. Sound, however, takes five seconds to travel through air for each mile. If the thunder and the lightning are simultaneous, the lightning strike is very close to you. If the thunder is five seconds after the lightning, the lightning was one mile away. If the thunder is ten seconds after the lightning, the lightning was 2 miles away, and so on.
Why lightning has no sound?
Lightning does have sound. Depending upon the distance of the lighting bolt, it may be audible instantaneously or it may take several seconds for the sound waves to reach your ears. The further away the lighting, the longer it will take for the thunder to follow.
Does light or sound travel slower?
Sound, in normal air. First lightning then thunder!
How does the sound of thunder reach you?
Energized air from the storm strikes your ears.
Why can't you see thunder?
Thunder is our name for the sound made by lightning. The reason there is (usually) a delay between when you see the bolt of lightning and hear the thunder is that light travels more quickly than does sound. This is the reason that you can count seconds between seeing lightning and hearing thunder to figure out how close the lightning is to you. When the lightning is closer to you, the sound doesn't take as much time to travel to your ears and thus the gap between the lightning and thunder is shorter. So you can't see thunder because it's merely a sound - but you can see the source of that sound.
